TRANSHIPMENT OF TOXIC WASTES

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for the Environment what steps have been taken by his Ministry to prevent Singapore from inadvertently becoming a transhipment centre for toxic and hazardous waste intended for neighbouring Asian countries.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Large volumes of normal goods pass legitimately through Singapore every day as Singapore is a major goods distribution hub for the region.

Unfortunately, toxic wastes are moved through the same channels of transportation as normal goods. These wastes are sometimes disguised or falsely declared as normal goods. This is not easy to detect or prevent.

Singapore does not condone the illegal movement of wastes of any kind and we have taken several measures and initiatives to deter this.

There are adequate disposal facilities for wastes generated by our local industries. The generation, movement and disposal of wastes are closely monitored by my Ministry. There is no need to export unless it is to legitimate recycling centres approved by the importing country.

Any action taken by Singapore alone, however, will not be enough to prevent or even deter the movement of toxic wastes as such an activity transcends national boundaries. It can only effectively be controlled through co-ordinated and joint action by all the countries affected.

My Ministry therefore works closely with the authorities in our neighbouring countries to investigate any shipment of toxic wastes and to take the necessary control measures whenever we have information about such shipments.

Procedures to monitor and control the movements of wastes have already been developed with Malaysia on a bilateral basis through the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment and we are developing similar controls with Indonesia through the Indonesia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment.

My Ministry, which currently chairs the ASEAN Working Group on Transboundary Pollution, has initiated through this Working Group the development of similar procedures for ASEAN countries to assist each other in monitoring and controlling the movement of such wastes.